APRIL 25, 2002

Turkey looks at the WRC

TURKEY has been making noises about bidding for a Grand Prix in recent months but Mumtaz Tahincioglu, the head of the Turkish Motorsports Association say that Turkey is now bidding for a round of the World Rally Championship. Although Tahincioglu says that the F1 dream remains alive, the move is being scene as a more realistic option, given the current competition that exists for Grand Prix events. The WRC calendar is pretty tight as well and there are already two events in the region: the Acropolis Rally in Greece and the Cyprus Rally. The FIA is however looking at replacing some of the rounds of the WRC because of problems with crowd control. A number of the WRC teams recently issued a statement supporting Tahincioglu's bid for the Anatolian Rally to be one of the 14 events in 2003. Tahincioglu says that the event would help Turkey to get a Grand Prix but the idea still needs backing from the government as funding has been hard to find.